Stop Smoking

There are about 6.86 billion people in the world today, and approximately 17 percent or 1.22 billion of this population are smokers. The number might even increase to 1.5 to 1.9 billion by the year 2025. They can account for the estimated ten million cigarettes purchased each minute around the globe. While these figures appear alarming, the number of smokers who cannot stop the habit is more concerning. According to 2007 worldwide records, about 4.9 million smokers die each year. Don’t wait for your number to come up. Find the courage and motivation to finally quit smoking.

But first of all, there are encouraging data reflecting the success achieved by those who stopped smoking. A lot of countries today have statistics that reveal that there are more ex-smokers than current or occasional smokers. In the US alone, there are 47 million ex-smokers – a million people more than smokers. Approximately ¾ of them have quit on their own as assistance from others (whether family, therapists or medication) is deemed unnecessary.

One self-help method utilized by many is called the ‘cold turkey’, which refers to an abrupt halting of all nicotine use. Other people also found gradual reduction of cigarettes smoked to be more helpful to the body system due to the elimination of possible body shock. The ‘shock’ is often encountered with the previous method because of the sudden removal of nicotine, which the body has grown accustomed to.

On the other hand, professional medical or emotional support programs proved to be a big help to many. Counseling, coaching and cognitive behavioral therapy are some of the popular smoking cessation services. The nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) involves five of the seven over-the-counter stop smoking aids approved by the US FDA. These promote effective management of nicotine withdrawal symptoms. They are in the form of transdermal nicotine patches, gum, lozenges, nasal sprays, and inhalers.

Cigarette substitutes are also rising in popularity among quitters as they are useful during the initial stage of decreasing cigarette consumption. The vaporizer and electronic cigarette work with a heating element that vaporizes liquid nicotine once the device is puffed; thus, creating the illusion that the nicotine craving is satiated. For some people, the knowledge of the adverse consequences brought about by smoking already serves as a great motivation to quit. Those who want to preserve their beauty are more driven due to the effects of smoking on their physical appearance. Medical researches claim that smokers would typically have to endure lower eyelids, yellow teeth, bad breath, deteriorated gums, wrinkled skin, and thin hair.

Health risks are also known to be heightened with smoking. These include respiratory illnesses, especially lung cancer, heartdiseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid disease, and infertility. Other ‘simpler’ complications consist of snoring, depression and eventual brittle bones and joints.

The positive effects that these measures imparted to millions of people may be remarkable, but they still cannot be as effective if utilizing them is not backed up with the commitment and determination to ultimately stop smoking. Missing out on this factor can perpetually hinder your quest to junk cigarettes out of your life.